Published4 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, PrimeBy Annabelle LiangBusiness reporterUS Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has called on regulators to investigate an energy drink promoted by high-profile YouTubers KSI and Logan Paul.Mr Schumer alleges the drink is being targeted at children despite its high caffeine content.Prime Energy contains 200mg of caffeine per can, which is almost twice the amount in rival energy drink Red Bull.Each drink carries a warning stating that it is not recommended for children under the age of 18.However, Mr Schumer alleged that Prime Energy was packaged and marketed “in near identical form” as a caffeine-free drink from the brand.As a result, some parents had unknowingly bought the caffeinated drink for their children, he told reporters in New York on Sunday.”The FDA [Food and Drug Administration] must investigate PRIME for its absurd caffeine content and its marketing targeting kids on social media,” he later said on Twitter.Prime did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment.Image source, Getty ImagesIn 2022, Logan Paul and KSI – who have around 48 million YouTube followers between them – launched the caffeine-free Prime Hydration drink.It quickly became an online sensation, sparking long queues and even headfirst dives into shelves at stores.The caffeinated Prime Energy drink was launched in January this year. It is promoted by the company as being sugar-free and vegan.A warning on each can of the drink states that it is not recommended for children under the age of 18, people who are sensitive to caffeine, pregnant women or women who are breastfeeding.Some schools around the world have sent out warnings about Prime drinks or banned them altogether.Earlier this year, the Milton Primary School in Newport, Wales sent a message to parents warning them not to confuse the caffeinated and non-caffeinated versions of the drink after a pupil fell ill outside of school hours.Meanwhile, the Maryborough State High School in Queensland, Australia issued a ban on energy drinks.”There are some new energy or hydration drinks that have recently hit the market… some of which have 4 TIMES the caffeine or stimulant as ‘regular’ energy drinks,” the school said in a post on Facebook.”These can cause significant concerns in students with (potentially unidentified) health issues,” it added.This video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.More on this storyIs Prime causing problems in playgrounds?Published5 JunePrime Energy prompts caffeine warning concernsPublished22 MayHow KSI and Logan Paul made people crazy for PrimePublished18 April

Published4 hours agoSharecloseShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesMacau closed all its casinos for the first time in more than two years on Monday after a coronavirus outbreak in the world’s biggest gambling hub.Authorities have ordered non-essential businesses, which includes over 30 casinos, to shut for a week.The city has recorded 1,526 Covid cases since the middle of June according to official figures.Gaming shares slipped on Monday over concerns of tougher rules in the Chinese special administrative region.Around 19,000 people have been put in mandatory quarantine as the city tackles its worse Covid-19 outbreak since early 2020. Schools and entertainment venues, including bars and cinemas, had already been closed under earlier guidelines.Over the weekend, Macau’s Government Information Bureau said all businesses would be required to suspend their operations unless they were “deemed essential to the community and to the day-to-day lives of the members of the public”.”The latest step is in order to contain the spread of Covid-19 in the community,” the bureau said in a statement on Saturday.It has also instructed people to stay at home, and stopped dining-in services at restaurants.Zero Covid holds danger for China’s XiMacau police arrest casino boss amid crackdownMore than 90% of Macau’s residents have received two doses of Covid vaccines. It’s unclear how many have also received their booster doses, but the city is facing the fast-spreading Omicron variant for the first time.In recent weeks, officials have set up a makeshift hospital and turned several casino resorts into medical facilities, as the former Portuguese colony only has one public hospital serving more than 600,000 residents.They have also mass tested residents and locked down apartment buildings and hotels where infections were found. Macau follows China’s strict “zero Covid” strategy, where even handful of cases have led to mass testing, forced quarantine and lockdowns of neighbourhoods and even cities. While Macau has not imposed the type of city-wide lockdown seen in mainland China, it’s virtually closed as most services have been halted.Terry Ng, an equity research analyst at Daiwa Capital Markets Hong Kong, told the BBC that Macau authorities were “stuck between a rock and a hard place”.”Because mainland Chinese tourists accounted for 71% of all tourists and more than 90% of gross gaming revenue, they have to duly follow mainland China’s zero-Covid policy which is highly restrictive,” he said.Gambling is illegal in mainland China but is allowed in Macau, which like Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China.Macau casino shares slipped on Monday as the restrictions kicked into effect.Shares in Sands China, a subsidiary of casino giant Las Vegas Sands, were trading 7% lower by mid-day in Hong Kong. That of SJM Holdings, which was founded by the late Hong Kong tycoon Stanley Ho, fell by 6.1%.You may also be interested in:This video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.More on this storyMacau casino shares fall after weekend arrests29 November 2021Crackdown fears put Macau casinos on losing streak16 September 2021Sands pulling out of Las Vegas to bet big on Asia4 March 2021Macau gambles on tech for its Covid-19 recovery23 December 2020

SharecloseShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesMajor tampon manufacturers in the United States have pledged to make more of the sanitary products to address shortages in the country.One firm told the BBC the pandemic had caused staff shortages at its plants.Social media users have been posting about their experiences as they struggle to find sanitary products.One Reddit user said they visited eight stores to find tampons with a cardboard applicator, before deciding to buy them online “at a noticeable mark-up”.It comes as the war in Ukraine is making the raw materials used in sanitary products more costly.The shortage is also adding to concerns that supply chain disruptions could further push up prices for essential goods around the world.A spokesperson for Edgewell Personal Care, which makes Playtex and o.b. tampons, said that its stocks have been “impacted due to extensive workforce shortages caused by two separate Omicron surges in the US and Canada in late 2021 and early 2022, respectively”.”We have been operating our manufacturing facilities around the clock to build back inventory and anticipate returning to normal levels in the coming weeks,” the spokesperson added.Online groups hunt for baby formula during US shortageStudent gives period pads to Ukrainian refugeesMeanwhile, Procter & Gamble (P&G), the maker of the Tampax tampon brand, said in a statement that it was “working hard to ramp up production”.”We can assure you this is a temporary situation,” said the company, which sells around 4.5bn boxes of tampons globally each year. P&G’s chief financial officer, Andre Schulten, said at a recent earnings call that it has been “costly and highly volatile” to acquire raw materials such as cotton and plastic for tampons.”It is so important at this point for people to buy only what they need. I am not a supply chain expert but we know that some of the shortages we all experienced early in the pandemic were due to hoarding,” Elise Joy, the co-founder and executive director of US charity Girls Helping Girls Period, said.”Menstrual products are not a luxury item, and if we all take or buy what we need it will go a long way to making sure more people can get basic supplies,” she added.A spokesperson for the US pharmacy chain Walgreens told the BBC that it was “experiencing some temporary brand-specific tampon shortage in certain geographies”. “While we will continue to have products at shelf and online, it may only be in specific brands while we navigate the supply disruption,” the spokesperson added.You may also be interested in:This video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.More on this storyOnline groups hunt for baby formula during US shortageUS mothers warned against DIY formula amid shortageCharities call for menstrual leave for severe painStudent gives period pads to Ukrainian refugees